Sunday, July 11, 2010

The Picture

This is the photo that inspired the first drawings of Ren.I thought it was funny to see a psychotic chihuahua in a cute sweater and I imagined him doing everything possible to get it off.I also imagined his master putting him outside where the bigger bully dogs would make fun of him.

These aren't the first drawings of him, but they were based on my initial doodles. I do have some very early doodles somewhere around here and I'll put 'em up soon. I don't think I have the very first sketches, but I have some from that period. Maybe Joel Fajnor has some. He's the guy that urged me to put Ren and Stimpy together. We worked together at Calico Creations in 1979 and used to crack each other up all day doing wacky drawings and crazy voices. (He's a great cartoonist and designer and all around talented man.)

We both did the Peter Lorre voice all day long, which must have driven all the other animators crazy at work.

i love that story. that a simple picture could bring forth so much! i love how all you see of the chihuahua's master is the very bottom of the legs like mr. pipe, or tom's owner...or cow and chicken's parents!

this is a great post. I was actually thinking of asking you if you could post some drawings you did from when you were around 17/18, if you had them. Just to see ho far along you were at that stage.Could you do that, Mr. Kricfalusi?

These are very interesting drawings. I've always wondered something though. Where did you get the idea for both Ren's first and last name from? They're both very unusual names. Did you make them up from your head?

I was watching another Joan Crawford picture today and some of her expressions reminded me of what you sometimes did with Ren by the way. She's a very versatile actress, in my opinion. I still have got to see Mildred Pierce if I can.

"There are lots of young cartoonists who are way ahead of where I was."

Hahahaha! You were probably way ahead of where I currently am right now with my cartooning, that's for sure. I'd love to see more of your drawings from your teenage years.

that dog is fucking crazy!that's poetically beautyfull. so rich in possibility it's scary. and the fact that he is kind of married to an imbecile cat tops it.

ren and stimpy are the most beautyfull characters in the world. it's like having a tom and jerry with a more subtle and diverse relationship... it's david lynch and chuck jones working together. and it came to cartoons as a renaissance. nothing was the same since it. I REMEMBER. it came in a time when all alternative cartooning was kind of social or political. it made two stupid dogs possible, and therefore, every money making cartoon after it too.you deserve to have anything out of your head put in at least paper.

i really wish you would go back animating them, just get a good lawyer now to guarantee no one will stop you and make sure you will be left alone to produce what god made you for.

The tiny body of a Chihuahua dissipates heat much more rapidly than larger dogs. Their short fur just isn't enough to keep them warm in envrionments like, say, late autumn or early winter in New York City. So the sweater serves a functional purpose beyond making Mummy's little snuggums look adorable: it helps keep the dog from freezing to death.

Of course that overlooks the first rule of cartooning, which is that should accuracy come into conflict with funniness, accuracy always gets the axe.

Hey John!!!!,Im going to be going to art school next month to Laguna collage of art and design,But I still don't know what Ill be majoring in.I always wanted to be an animator,but I was always told that animation is dieing out and there's no jobs.So My question to you is how difficult is it to get a job animating??????

There's a German film called "Friendship" that came out January of this year. There's a character they meet on their way to San Francisco, who gives them a drawing similar to Ren and Stimpy. Because it is based on a true story, I was wondering if it actually was you who met, and picked up the two East German Hitchhikers. Here's a screenshot from the trailer showing the drawing he gave them.

If you do remember, or if it is true, could you maybe either respond to me, or even better write a blog post telling the story from your point of view. It would be really interesting. I really recommend the movie as well! If nothing else, to see the apparent portrayal of you.